No approach Lammy and Starmer didn’t know Mandelson failed vetting, says former overseas secretary | EUROtoday

It is “inconceivable” that Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy weren’t informed about Peter Mandelson failing the safety vetting course of for the position of US ambassador, a former overseas secretary has claimed, amid rising accusations that the prime minister scapegoated the top of the Foreign Office so as to save himself.

Describing his personal latest expertise, Sir James Cleverly, who was overseas secretary from 2022 to 2023, mentioned: “I cannot envisage a universe where someone senior in the Foreign Office wouldn’t have sat down with the foreign secretary and said something to warn about this.”

It comes as former civil servants declare that the sacked everlasting secretary to the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins, was “thrown under a bus”.

Sir Keir has claimed he solely found final week that Lord Mandelson had failed vetting, regardless of The Independent telling Downing Street and operating a narrative on the revelation in September final yr.

The prime minister mentioned it was “staggering” and “unforgiveable” that he had not been informed earlier, including that he was “furious”. He claimed that Downing Street and all his ministers had been saved at the hours of darkness.

Sir Olly is extensively anticipated to mount a staunch defence of his choice to approve Lord Mandelson’s appointment at a listening to of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday – which has been described as “judgement day” for Sir Keir – with former colleagues anticipating the previous civil servant to emphasize that the appointment was a ministerial choice pushed via by Downing Street.

As outrage grows on the scandal round Lord Mandelson’s appointment, and the prime minister’s claims that he wasn’t conscious of the issues surrounding it, contemporary doubts are being forged on Sir Keir’s model of occasions.

Questions have been raised about his declare, made within the Commons in February, that Downing Street was not conscious that Lord Mandelson had failed safety vetting.

Simon McDonald, a former everlasting secretary within the Foreign Office, informed Radio 4’s Today programme that Sir Olly had been “thrown under a bus”, and described him as a “scalp” who had been sacked in an effort to avoid wasting the prime minister.

“I think this is the biggest crisis in the diplomatic service since I joined it in 1982,” mentioned Lord McDonald.

Speaking on The Independent’s political podcast In the Roomformer deputy cupboard secretary Helen MacNamara criticised the prime minister for axing Sir Olly, calling the choice “reactive” and echoing the metaphor about throwing him below a bus.

Other senior former colleagues of Sir Olly have instructed that what he’s accused of is “completely out of character”.

With latest expertise of constructing extremely delicate diplomatic appointments as overseas secretary, Sir James mentioned it was “just not credible” that neither Sir Keir nor the then overseas secretary Mr Lammy – now deputy prime minister – didn’t know.

He mentioned: “It is just inconceivable that Olly Robbins would have sat on this information knowing that it would eventually blow up.

“We are being asked to believe that Olly Robbins was sitting there thinking, ‘I actually know Mandelson didn’t get through vetting… I probably should tell the prime minister that before he embarrasses himself further.’”

He went on: “That is just not credible – the idea that absolutely nobody read The Independent’s piece in September; that seems at odds with what Olly Robbins has already told us.

“The only thing I can think is that Olly doesn’t have anything in writing to show he told anyone.”

Pointing to a letter despatched by Sir Olly in July final yr to shadow Tory minister Richard Holden, wherein he acknowledged that Lord Mandelson “was directly appointed by ministers”, Sir James instructed that the sacked senior mandarin “has left a trail of crumbs back to who was really responsible”.

He mentioned that usually, diplomatic roles are given to profession diplomats who’ve already been vetted, however with political appointments, “the foreign secretary is told firmly that is on him, and is warned of the risks”.

Sir James mentioned: “I had this with two political appointments I tried to make which were much more minor than the ambassador to the United States. They make it very, very clear that you, personally, are importing a whole load of risk.”

He added: “This is why I think David Lammy may have even more problems than Keir Starmer.”

On the matter of any issues which may come up, Sir James mentioned: “Of course I would relay that to the prime minister, especially in a case like this, where the appointment was being driven by Downing Street.”

It is understood from papers already launched that Sir Philip Barton expressed considerations concerning the appointment earlier than he stop early as everlasting secretary on the Foreign Office in February 2025.

Other former high cupboard ministers and civil servants have additionally privately agreed with Sir James’s evaluation, noting that such briefings to the prime minister and different senior cupboard ministers happen in STRAP rooms (safe and secret).

One former senior civil servant additionally pointed to a publish on X by Dominic Cummings, wherein Mr Cummings attacked claims that the prime minister hadn’t been briefed.

Mr Cummings, who served as Boris Johnson’s chief of workers, wrote: “The PM is often told by officials details from vetting, leak inquiries, investigations by intel agencies etc. This is because the PM in our constitution is often the only constitutional authority deemed able to make a political judgement about things including risk assessments of appointments.”

The former civil servant described the publish as “completely accurate”.

Sir James’s doubts coincide with revelations that others in Whitehall – together with new cupboard secretary Dame Antonia Romeo, the everlasting secretary to the Cabinet Office, Cat Little, and authorities legal professionals – had been all conscious of the issue as of March this yr.

A supply near the deputy prime minister famous: “It’s a bit of an odd attack from Cleverly, given all sides in this have made it clear that ministers weren’t told.”

The Independent has approached Downing Street and Mr Lammy’s workplace for remark.